8 Things We're Hoping For From Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Dear J.J. Abrams, This Is What We Want From The Force Awakens

With just a week to go until we get to see it, the publicity push for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is beginning. Since J.J. Abrams gave us a lot of new information in an interview with Entertainment Weekly way back in August, new footage tidbits have been popping up. It’s now close enough that it feels like something that’s really going to happen, not just a distant wish. With any huge film, anticipation is everything. Here are eight things we’re hoping for when we step back into that familiar galaxy. (And be sure to check out these 7 unexpected J.J. Abrams facts!)

A Villain With Substance

Disney

Cool bad guys were never the problem with the prequels; Darth Maul was perfectly designed and the idea behind General Grievous was solid. What they lacked was any depth, any reason to be interested in them beyond their look and ability with a lighsaber (or several). The Force Awakens has two baddies who look excellent: Rylo Ken (Adam Driver) and Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), so the hope is that they’re more than a triple-lightsaber and a shiny Stormtrooper suit respectively. JJ Abrams told Entertainment Weekly that Rylo Ken is “an Everyperson who has to step up” to bringing back the dark side, who isn’t “fully formed when we meet him”. That suggests character development and conflict, which is what made Darth Vader one of the great villains. This is good.

A Place For The Originals

Disney

That moment that Harrison Ford, greyer, craggier, but instantly Han Solo again, rumbled, “Chewie, we’re home” in the last trailer, the fans had what they wanted: the Star Wars they knew and loved living again. The challenge for Abrams, now that he’s brought back the core original characters, is to give them a story worth coming back for, not just a wave of nostalgia to ride. His recent comment that he was brought onboard by the question of “who is Luke Skywalker?” suggests we have a lot to learn about Darth Vader’s son, either good or bad. And the casually mentioned fact that Leia now has both her father’s lightsaber (the blue ‘good guy’ one, not the red ‘bad guy’ one) and force powers gives endless possibilities to a character whose journey could be the most interesting of the entire series. We want a Han, Luke and Leia we don’t yet fully know, not just the familiar ones with more wrinkles.

Worthy Newcomers

Disney

The toughest job for Abrams may be, with the presence of the fan favourites, establishing new heroes who are every bit as interesting. We know very little about new leads Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega), which seems to be very deliberate so as not to give too much of the game away, but they’re going to need some killer moments to stand out when you’ve got Han and Chewie flying the Millennium Falcon again.

No Trade Embargoes

20th Century Fox

In fact, nothing in the opening crawl that requires several reads to even vaguely understand. And nothing about taxes or federations or political upheavals that demand resolution with sit-down debates as opposed to big fights.

At Least One Scene Between R2-D2 and BB-8

Realism

Disney

Possibly high on a list of Stupidest Things You Could Say About A Series Involving Magic Torch Fights, but this isn’t meant in the sense of “gritty realism”. Nobody has any interest in Star Wars doing a Christopher Nolan. This is meant in the sense of having the texture of the original films, in which the planets felt like actual places where you could feel the heat and dust, not the glossy, box-fresh worlds of the prequels. Just because digital effects mean you can do anything doesn’t mean they should be the immediate go-to for sci-fi.

The Whole Team Together

20th Century Fox

Thus far, in the trailers, we’ve only seen the old and new characters separately. We’ve seen Han and Chewie together, but not with Luke or Leia, nor have we seen Luke and Leia together (actually, we’ve only heard Luke and seen Leia’s hand – WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??). Is it too much to hope that we’ll get all of the original four together, with the newbies, possibly on the Millennium Falcon? If that happens it should obviously be followed by a long spell of silence to allow for all the cheering and whooping and screaming and crying and possibly vomiting with joy.

Fun

20th Century Fox

Above all, after all this time, fans really want The Force Awakens to be a blast. For all the import that people attach to these films and all the forensic examination of every minor detail and incidental character, the reason children fell in love with Star Wars in the first place was because it created a sense of awe and adventure. The obsessiveness and debate came later, for some. As much as those who love the series want the mythology deepened, a serious, convoluted new chapter would just take us back to prequel territory. If JJ Abrams can send his audience back out into the real world desperate for just one more minute in a universe where every minute was an adventure, then he will have done his job.